OUR TEAM

The Ruppert Nurseries Team

The Ruppert Nurseries team brings many years of combined industry expertise to every task they undertake with the goal of ensuring that we are employing the best practices and the most up-to-date knowledge in the industry. The company employs team members with expertise in urban forestry, agriculture, landscape contracting and entomology. Additionally, several team members have Certified Professional Horticulturist (CPH) and Certified Arborist certifications.

Craig Ruppert, CEO

As the company’s founder and chief executive, Craig has been instrumental in developing the company’s mission, culture and values. His experience and involvement with outside board memberships in other industries has allowed him to bring innovative ideas and management approaches to Ruppert Nurseries. Craig’s current responsibilities include strategic planning, financial management and personnel development. He has been with Ruppert since its inception in 1976. Craig and his wife Patty have 4 grown children and are grandparents to 8 grandchildren. An avid runner, it is not unusual to see Craig many mornings running the roads of the nursery.

Kelly Lewis, General Manager

Kelly’s responsibilities include oversight of the day to day operations and long term planning activities for Ruppert Nurseries. With a particular emphasis on team building and personnel growth and development. Kelly started with Ruppert Nurseries in 1994. He is a Certified Professional Horticulturalist and has a Texas A&M Certificate of applied business management. Kelly is married with a college age son and three labs at home and will often have his black lab Cole in the truck while at the farm. He is an avid hunter and fisherman and experimental amateur at-home chef.

Ronda Roemmelt Sneider, Sales Manager/Mid Atlantic Sales Rep.

As sales manager, Ronda is responsible for the overall direction of the sales team as well as development of our Landscape Architects Lunch and Learn Program. She is responsible for maintaining customer relations, sales and marketing initiatives in the Mid-Atlantic. Ronda has been with Ruppert since 2013 and has a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Science from Pennsylvania State University with a minor in Horticulture. Ronda is a Certified Professional Horticulturalist and an ISA Certified Arborist. When not at Ruppert Nurseries, Ronda can usually be found on the sidelines watching her kids play their various sports. In her remaining “free time” she enjoys spending time on the water boating and paddle boarding. A cook with enough skills to be dangerous, she and her husband Adam, enjoy pairing food and wine, entertaining friends and traveling.

Miriam Brittle, Office Manager

Miriam is the liaison between the sales staff, field staff and customers. She is responsible for everything from helping customers place orders and readying their invoices to assisting the controller with employee payroll and monthly financial reports. She has been with Ruppert since 1999 and has an associate’s degree from Briarwood College. Miriam’s spare time is filled with various church activities and family. She especially enjoys teaching Sunday School to her three grandchildren.

Ashley Miles, In-House Sales Rep.

Ashley is responsible for in-house sales. She helps our local customers with orders, tagging trips and pictures. Ashley has been with Ruppert since 2013 and has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology from the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Ashley is a Certified Professional Horticulturalist. Ashley has a deeply rooted love for trees and for living an environmentally conscious lifestyle. Ashley also enjoys traveling and spends many holidays in New York, catching up with her family over a craft beer at the family brewery.

Jim Davenport, New England Sales Representative

Jim has been involved with the landscape industry for over 25 years and has over 20 years of experience specifically in nursery sales. He has been servicing clients in the New England market for over 15 years and with Ruppert Nurseries since 2008. He holds a bachelors degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Temple University and BS in Accounting from Clarion University of PA. Jim resides in Elkton, MD with his wife Gretchen, daughter AnnMarie and dog Murphy. Jim enjoys spending time with his family and friends, golf and gardening. He especially loves to watch his daughter play lacrosse and is an avid Philadelphia sports enthusiast.

Greg Dahms, Sales Representative for New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania

Greg’s primary area of responsibility is handling customers’ requests for material and sales and marketing of Ruppert’s products in his territory. He has been with Ruppert since 2008 and has been involved in the nursery and landscape industry for over 20 years. He attended Temple University where he received his bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture. Greg lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and 2 children. When not at work he enjoys spending time with friends and family and especially enjoys the great outdoors.

Joe Proskine, Tree Moving Sales Representative

Joe focuses on transplanting and installing large caliper, specimen trees and has experience using alternative methods of tree moving to accomplish challenging projects. Joe has 25 years of experience moving large trees in the DC metro area. He has seven years of experience working with Ruppert Landscape Environmental branch and has been with Ruppert Nurseries since 2013. Joe has been a Certified Professional Horticulturalist for over 20 years and ISA Certified Arborist for 4 years. Joe enjoys golfing and spending time attending his daughters sporting endeavors.

Nick Graves, Nursery Maintenance Manager

Nick is responsible for the hands-on care of the trees and their maintenance at the nursery and its satellite farms. He is in charge of liner planting, pruning, irrigation, weed control and turf maintenance. He has been with Ruppert since 2006 and has a bachelor’s of science degree in landscape horticulture with a minor in agricultural business and entomology. Nick is also a Certified Professional Horticulturist. An avid Washington Capitals fan and woodworker, Nick can often be found creating some pretty amazing custom furniture pieces in his woodshop.

Casey Berman, Production and Maintenance Assistant

Casey is responsible for keeping things running smoothly between the office and the field. Casey has been with Ruppert since 2016. She has a Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management and Rural Development with a minor in Environmental Economics from West Virginia University. Casey is also the safety representative for the company’s safety program. A recent new homeowner, Casey enjoys spending her free time with her friends and family, as well as her two crazy dogs Roxanne and Gunner.

Rachel Linsenmeyer, Tree Moving Supervisor

Rachel is a Tree Moving Specialist here at Ruppert Nurseries with a wide variety of responsibilities. Rachel started at Ruppert in 2016 cutting grass and moved onto spade where she got her CDL and now uses our 90” & 100” spade trucks to install and transplant trees at jobsites and here at the nursery. When she is not operating the truck, she supports the sales team, helps keep track of the spade portion of our monthly sales report and helps with other office duties. You can usually find her doing anything outdoors when she is not here at Ruppert. Recently she picked up playing golf and will spend her weekends at the local golf courses with friends and family.

Tyler Anderson, Tree Moving Senior Supervisor

In his role as senior supervisor, Tyler leads up a team which specializes in on-site large tree transplanting and installation. Tyler has experience in craning, boxing and transplanting big trees. Tyler started with Ruppert Nurseries in 2012 and has worked his way up from crewman to Senior Supervisor. He started his secondary education in fire science where he traveled the country participating in numerous course and lectures in this discipline before changing his field of study to Arboriculture where he countries to study today. Tyler is an ISA Certified Arborist. Tyler and his wife Becky recently bought a new home in Clear Spring, MD. Tyler is an avid backcountry hunter and conservationist.

Patrick Schlosser –Tree Moving division supervisor

Patrick is a supervisor with the tree moving division. He helps oversee and implement tree moving projects. He moved into this role after a very successful stint on the farm as loading manager; arguably one of the most challenging jobs on the farm. Patrick has a degree from Wesley College. He enjoys hunting and fishing and is a connoisseur of and author of spoken word.

Howie Burrill – Operations Manager, Tree Moving Division

In his role as tree moving, Howie oversees the day to day production, staffing and scheduling needs of the tree moving division. Howie comes to Ruppert Nurseries with a wealth of knowledge in moving large trees. Prior to Ruppert Nurseries, Howie owned his own landscape business for many years and even dabbled a bit in the mortgage business. He is a former LCA board member and chaired the CLT program when it came to MD. Howie is a father to two grown children, a son and a daughter. He enjoys spending time on the water. We affectionately refer to Howie as our resident Pessimist as he enjoys playing the frequent role of devil’s advocate.

James Guernieri- Assistant Farm Manager

In James’ role as assistant farm manager, he is responsible for overseeing planting of the liner trees as well as the cover crops which are planted throughout the farm. James says the favorite parts of his job are the variety each day provides as well as his time he gets to spend working with the nursery K-9 crew. James is a graduate of Salisbury University with a degree in Environmental Science with minors in biology and sustainable agriculture. In his spare time, James likes to spend time with his friends and family and enjoys outdoor activities such as hunting and fishing.

Angie Chedester- Accountant

Angie leads the accounting team and plays a key role in the development, operation and control of accounting operations including accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll and financial reporting. Angie recently joined Ruppert Nurseries and has over 10 years of accounting experience. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the Kennesaw State University in Georgia. In her spare time, Angie enjoys hiking, traveling, volunteering and spending time with her teenage son.

Ronnie Wright- Shop Manager

Ronnie has been the fleet/shop manager at Ruppert nurseries since 2010. In his role, he is responsible for the repair and maintenance of all our equipment and vehicles. He is also responsible for buying and selling fleet items. Ingenuity is one of our Ruppert values; as such, Ronnie’s favorite part of his job is fabricating new or modifying old pieces of equipment to suit our current needs. When not at work, Ronnie enjoys spending time with his family. Ronnie especially enjoys his role as grandfather. He has 4 grandchildren; 1 granddaughter and 3 grandsons.

At Ruppert Nurseries, we put extra care and consideration into our soil. Our custom soil and growing techniques create some of the best growing conditions in the state, giving our trees the fuel they need to grow.

The information on this website is for informational purposes only; it is deemed accurate but not guaranteed. It does not constitute professional advice. All information is subject to change at any time without notice. Contact us for complete details.

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